U.S. lawmakers relaunch effort to stop U.S. support for Saudi Yemen campaign

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution on Wednesday seeking to end any U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen, with plans to introduce a similar measure in the Senate.

Among other things, the measure would end intelligence sharing that enables offensive strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, end logistical support for strikes and bar U.S. personnel from being assigned to accompany coalition forces engaged in hostilities without prior formal congressional authorization.

While many U.S. lawmakers consider Saudi Arabia an important partner in the Middle East, members of Congress have long criticized its involvement in the war in Yemen, a conflict considered one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

The resolution, backed by dozens of Democrats and a handful of Republicans, follows similar efforts in the past few years to restrict U.S. involvement in the seven-year-long conflict or restrict weapons sales. Those failed to become law but put pressure on the White House to rethink policy.

The resolution’s lead sponsors included Democratic Representatives Peter DeFazio, Adam Schiff, Pramila Jayapal and Republican Representative Nancy Mace. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, plans to introduce a companion version in the Senate.

Similar legislation passed both the House and Senate in 2019, but the measure did not garner the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to override a veto from then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by David Gregorio)